‘Dancing with the Stars’ Recap: Jives, Quicksteps and Jazz

You never get a second chance to make a first impression – unless you’re on “Dancing with the Stars.”

The 12 couples who made their debuts last week are back, this time doing jives, quicksteps and jazz. The latter is the second new style to join the rotation this season, and Monday we’ll see jazz routines from three couples. Can D.L. Hughley redeem himself from his 12-scoring cha-cha? Can someone like Victor Ortiz break out of the middle of the pack? Will Zendaya maintain the lead? Only one way to find out. Take it away, dancers!

After beginning their “DWTS” run with one of the new styles, contemporary, Ingo Rademacher and Kym Johnson perform a more traditional ballroom routine with a quickstep. Len told Ingo last week that he wanted to see Ingo dance, and Kym throws a lot of technique and a “bonanza of steps” (Bruno’s words) her star’s way. She tells him to think “I’m too good for you all” when he’s working on his frame. They’re cute and sassy together, and Ingo captures the spirit of the number with flung-open arms and a smooth walk-glide at the halfway mark. That “bonanza of steps” does seem to trip Ingo up literally and figuratively in several spots, though. Len and Bruno say yes to the frame; Carrie Ann thinks the frame was the problem. Len seems to diss the former “In Living Color” Fly Girl when he retorts “anyone who’s ever done ballroom dancing knows” how tough the frame is for the male celebrity. Score: 20 (Carrie Ann 6, Len 7, Bruno 7).

Dorothy Hamill has a cyst on one of her ankles that cuts extensively into rehearsal time for the jive. Tristan MacManus has to be conservative when he works with her; otherwise, she seems to supplement footwork with studying an iPad. The lack of real work shows on the live show. “Mr. Hair Gel,” as host Tom Bergeron calls Tristan, has to pull his partner along in an attempt to cover her obvious flubbing and forgetting. When she goes under his legs, it looks as if she gets caught in a web of his feet and her dress’ netting, Carrie Ann thinks fear, even more than the ankle injury, gets the best of Dorothy. The judges acknowledge her pain but don’t cut her slack. Bruno also wants Dorothy to work on her core. Score: 15 (5s from each judge). Dorothy says she feels bad for letting Tristan down.

Now that they have a full week of practice time, Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff look to move up the leaderboard with the night’s first jazz number. When the show had its odd mismash theme numbers last season, poor Karina and Apolo Anton Ohno struggled with a Big-Top Jazz dance that came across to the judges as disjointed. Monday is as much about redemption for Karina as it is for her current partner. What are we supposed to look for in jazz? Carrie Ann isn’t much help: “Jazz incorporates a lot of elements from a lot of styles. You want to hit the accents of the music. … You know, there’s just going to be a lot of things.” Well, that’s pretty specific. The rehearsal package gives us the goofy Baltimore Raven being scolded by purple- and black-clad little girls in leotards. As for the jazz number, it’s an entertainment piece, and Len notes this plays to Jacoby’s strengths. Jacoby leaps around, he tosses Karina in complicated lifts, and he has a crazy-fast spin sequence about a quarter of the way into the routine. But it seems too loose; I can’t help but think that Karina’s rule-breaking jive in Season 13 with J.R. Martinez seemed jazzier. Score: 23 (Carrie Ann 8, Len 7, Bruno 8).

Victor and Lindsay Arnold have an intense week training for the jive. Coordination isn’t the boxer’s strength, nor is remembering the steps Lindsay gives him, and he wants to walk out at one point. She gets somewhat teary but holds her ground, and he sticks around. (To his credit, Victor apologizes in the skybox and criticizes himself for being so rude.) No question Victor attacks this jive. With all the attack and enthusiasm, though, precision and actual jive steps go out the window. At first, the camera seems to show Lindsay more than Victor, so it’s hard to judge him. He probably should have wished the camera stuck with the pro, for his solo kick sequence display him with wide-open legs and feet that flop more than point. Consistency with speed also is a problem. The judges like the enthusiasm but not the footwork. Bruno recommends Victor not go through the beat and keep his butt under him. Score: 18 (straight 6s).

Wynonna Judd isn’t the fastest mover on the dance floor, so her quickstep with Tony Dovolani could be laden with problems. In rehearsal, she complains of the physical exertion and of being overstimulated. She cries. She’s tired. For this quickstep, “Super Mario lookalike” Tony (thanks, Tom) and Wynonna portray mall cops who are so bored they want to break out and dance. For the first half of the routine, this isn’t half bad, and Wynonna moves more than one might expect based on last week’s cha-cha. They’re in sync, too. But after a pause that ought to give Wynonna time to breathe, everything slows, and she goes into those crowd-pleasing solo moves that have nothing to do with the routine. Bruno compares the second half of the quickstep to a casual stroll, and Len says the dance was like an engine that never got out of first gear. Score: 18 (6 times 3).

Our Week 1 leaders, Zendaya and Val, look to jive as they aim to stay in front of everyone else. The 16-year-old TV star is 5’10” in flat feet, making her taller than her partner when she wobbles in heels. Val thinks she hasn’t grown into her body yet, but you’d never know that from the control she shows on the dance floor. Val moves as fast in this jive as he would with a pro, and Zendaya keeps up with every kick and spin. He liked to twirl Kelly Monaco last season, but Kelly had nothing on what Zendaya is doing here. At one point, she moves from fast flick to smooth and slow, and the transition looks effortless. Bruno starts to gush about the same, but Tom has to cut him off because the show is running over. Stammering Carrie Ann eventually sputters that Zendaya killed it. Score: 26 (Carrie Ann 9, Len 8, Bruno 9).

Last week, Andy Dick wore tails and a top hat and carried a cane for his foxtrot. What will he and Sharna Burgess bring to jazz? Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts costumes, for one. Andy picks up the steps quickly, so Sharna “allows” him to contribute some steps … such as a demented worm, as she calls it. Andy aims for power, passion, character and fun. When she was in the Troupe, Sharna choreographed a few of the numbers, and her work then benefits her now. This “Poker Face” number is tailored to Andy. He’s not the strongest dancer, but he can commit, and he can play a robot-like monster. Some of the moves are in fact jazz-like, especially in the arms. The judges have a blast, even though they know it’s not technically the best. The audience is voting via Twitter for the encore, but if it were up to the judges, I bet they would choose this number to see again Tuesday. Score: 20 (Carrie Ann 7, Len 6, Bruno 7).

The judges told Sean Lowe he needed refinement in his foxtrot, so you know they’ll be on his case to make sure those kicks and flicks in his jive are just so. Like Jacoby, he’s dorky and silly in practice, although Peta Murgatroyd doesn’t bring in a team of little kids to keep him in line. Theatrics take over the number here, with lifeguard Sean rescuing the drowning Peta. The goofy 1950s boy works for Sean as a character. As for Sean as a dancer? Tough to say, as we don’t see enough jive content. Bruno says it looks more like a jitterbug or a lindy hop, and Len wants more dancing. (I think he says this at some point about Peta’s choreography every season.) Sean doesn’t seem to connect well to music, Carrie Ann notes. Score: 20 (Carrie Ann 7, Len 6, Bruno 7). During Len’s critique, an audience member yells out, asking why Len is so cranky.

Mark Ballas knows his partner, Aly Raisman, can nail the technique of the quickstep. What he wants to do this week is rid the gymnast of her “podium smile.” He tells her she needs to be like a cartoon character with her facial expressions. Mark can be very over-the-top on a good day, so what will this mean for Aly? She seems to find the right balance in this quickstep. Sometimes the expressions are silly, but the smile doesn’t appear plastered on. The steps are tight and precise, and to echo Carrie Ann, it’s the best quickstep of the night. Len and Bruno want to see a better frame when Aly’s neck goes too far to the left. It looks as if we have “another successful graduate of the Mark Ballas School of Face Making.” (Thanks again, Tom.) Score: 24 (8s from each judge).

It’s pro Gleb Savchenko who gets emotional this week rather than his partner, Lisa Vanderpump. Gleb thought she was better in rehearsal than on the live show last week, so he decides he needs to be a little more of a Russian dictator. She moans and groans about the physicality. Flight attendant Lisa and sexy pilot Gleb, who unbuttons his shirt, want to sell the spirit of the jive over actual content. To use Lisa and Len’s wording, it’s a bumpy flight. She seems to stand in place at times. Her legs lack energy – is it that hard to lift them? The steps are tiny, so neat they barely count as dance moves. Len calls the routine wooden. Bruno wishes Lisa would do a better job of finishing the moves. Score: 18 (all 6s).

D.L. knows he needs to redeem himself and hopes the quickstep will be the answer. He isn’t endearing himself to viewers when he curses at Cheryl and implies that she needs to dumb down the routine for him. Cheryl refuses to make the choreography easier, especially because D.L. needs to prove himself to the judges. They make up the next day. “We were doing our Whitney and Bobby imitation for a while,” D.L. later tells co-host Brooke Burke Charvet. Cheryl packs a lot into the quickstep, which boldly opens with D.L. dancing alone on top of the judges’ table. The middle section is strongest, when D.L. and Cheryl glide across the floor fairly in sync during some complicated run patterns. His frame needs improvement; he has a tendency to slouch. The judges say he has a ways to go but has gotten better and clearly put in the effort this week. Score: 16 (Carrie Ann 5, Len 5, Bruno 6).

Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough were the openers of Week 1. For Week 2, they close the show with the final jazz ditty of the night. Kellie thinks jazz means Broadway. Derek says the music, Elle Goulding’s “Lights,” lends itself more to modern jazz. He wants to incorporate the sharp arms of Kellie’s cheerleading days and isn’t sure the judges will get the routine. The smoke machine takes over the room. How are the judges able to see Kellie’s and Derek’s feet? For viewers, it looks as if their bodies end somewhere between their waists and knees. The moves we can see are sharp, precise, and together. Kellie contorts her body into some lean, flexible positions. Carrie Ann gives Kellie and Derek a standing ovation, and Bruno thinks the routine modern jazz at its most effective. They all praise the footwork, so apparently they can see something. Score: 26 (Carrie Ann 9, Len 8, Bruno 9).

Who goes home Tuesday? Has this season already come down to Zendaya vs. Kellie? Leave your thoughts below.